Ike

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And that we applied that method to study what role young news users still assign to journalists when navigating the news.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Just wanted to share that we developed a method to combine data donations and in-depth interviews to study media use:

journals.sagepub.com/eprint/MYNHF...

And indeed, our analysis shows that financially viable news media markets exhibit greater resilience to disinformation.

Based on these insights, we also make the case for supporting the news ecosystem as a whole rather than ad-hoc support for specific outlets.

doi.org/10.1386/macp...

Is a financially viable news media market the key to fighting disinformation in Europe?

This is the question that Marlen Komorowski, Gijs Lambrechts and I try to answer in a new publication that is just out in open access!

The debate about a social media ban is now also in full swing in Belgium (Flanders).

We understand the rightful concerns of many parents and educators, and we welcome an open debate, but we also believe that a ban for -16 yo is too drastic a measure, and see too little scientific support for it.

Great times at @roskildeuni.bsky.social !

VUB opens its doors to censored American researchers University allocates funding and contact point for U.S. scholars looking to relocate to Brussels

Our university @vubrussel.bsky.social is opening 12 postdoc positions and a help desk aimed at welcoming American researchers looking for a free environment to pursue their research...

press.vub.ac.be/vub-opens-it...

VRT krijgt steun van de Vlaamse Regering voor 2 projecten rond desinformatie | VRT De Vlaamse Regering schenkt financiële steun aan vijf projecten die werken rond het thema desinformatie.

A team effort by Hanne Peeters, @nathalievanraemdonck.com, Joren Van Nieuwenborgh @michaelopgenhaffen.bsky.social & @pvanaelst.bsky.social resulting from the First Aid With Doubt project supported by @vlaamseoverheid.bsky.social.

www.vrt.be/nl/over-ons/...

Did this really happen or not?

Well, the publication of our article exploring news doubt & its antecedents in any case did!

Through 31 interviews, we conceptualise news doubt as moments when people feel uncertain about the accuracy of a news story.

intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...

Really glad to have been able to contribute together with Jo Pierson to this key paper of @nathalievanraemdonck.com's current research on platform affordances and their implications on norm enforcement on X and Instagram.

Andrew Ng is 'very glad' Google dropped its AI weapons pledge | TechCrunch Andrew Ng, the founder and former leader of Google Brain, supports Google's recent decision to drop its pledge not to build AI systems for weapons. "I'm

"Earlier this week, Google deleted a 7-year-old pledge from its AI principles web page, which promised the company would not design AI for weapons or surveillance."

Pledges from CEOs are clearly not what is going to tech us to peace...

techcrunch.com/2025/02/07/a...

And while Europe is at it, also be loud and vocal in its ambition to embed this innovation environment in turn in a value-driven and democratic system.

Who knows, maybe at some points, some bright minds and wealthy VCs might be willing to sacrifice some margin of profit for actually added value.

@vubrussel.bsky.social
AI lab colleagues Pieter Libin and Tim Brys: "We don't need a new Manhattan project, let alone a capitalist version of it, but rather a new CERN: an international collaboration for sustainable AI"

Had Trump been president, ‘maybe’ there would not have been war in Ukraine, Putin says – Europe live Russian president says if Donald Trump had been in power in 2022 the ‘crisis’ in Ukraine might not have happened

Smart move... legitimising authoritarianism by presenting it as the 'safer' option, one step at the time...

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

Meta to get rid of factcheckers and recommend more political content Mark Zuckerberg says company will ‘dramatically reduce censorship’ across Facebook, Instagram and Threads

Let's debate how to manage public debate, of course, but 1) moderation is not censorship. Pretending it is feels like a bad faith argument; 2) free speech knows limits by design, so an argument for limits to free speech is not per se one pro censorship.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Washington Post cartoonist resigns over paper’s refusal to publish cartoon critical of Jeff Bezos Pulitzer prize winner Ann Telnaes had drawn a cartoon of the paper’s owner kneeling before Donald Trump

An important signal from Telnaes because, sadly, this kind of bravery is needed to show citizens how free speech can be stifled by media themselves when the walls between ownership & newsroom permeate, and to inspire journalist to stand up & prop up those walls.

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...

Belgium becomes first EU country to ban sale of disposable vapes Products banned on health and environmental grounds, while Milan outlaws outdoor smoking

What a fine piece of legislation to start the year with!

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Extreme right 'patriots' sure look happy across the globe...

The alliance to dismantle democracy looks youthful...

The banality of evil looks scary...

Hope to see more journalistic pieces uncovering such connections...

And the democratic alliance emerge...

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Nathalie asking the right questions...

New report on what people in 8 countries think about platforms and the public sphere.

We find evidence for ‘platform ambivalence’. People recognise that social, search, etc. have some benefits, but when it comes to politics they also have drawbacks - but they use them anyway.

More findings:

We've been looking into online political influencers lately and how their audience 1) can push them deeper into conspiracy theories, 2) considers them as informative and entertaining simultaneously...

Might help in our quest for answers...

AAM & DOI: ikepiconeblog.wordpress.com/publications/

It's been so long since I posted anything anywhere... If this space turns out to be as promising as you say, I'll do my best to share some thoughts/articles/events/stuff once in a while... 😄

Maybe online participatory culture isn't dead after all...